


Painless

by nimery



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Family Drama, M/M, from all sides
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:41:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27283579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nimery/pseuds/nimery
Summary: Zushi really likes his classmate Alluka, so in an effort to win her favor, he drags his friend (and wingman) Gon to a seedy bar where her favorite band is playing. When she is invited onstage to sing with the band, Gon realizes something:He's really gay for the lead singer, who happens to be Alluka's brother.
Relationships: Alluka Zoldyck/Zushi, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 59





	Painless

**Author's Note:**

> Low key a love letter to all of the music getting me through work everyday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Bad Kicks by DYGL

The bar Zushi had asked Gon to meet him in was not what he expected. For one, it was really hot, stuffy even, inside even though there weren't that many people in the room. Second, Gon wasn't sure the lights were working very well, since it was so dim. While he could see everything in the room, it was all faded and nearly monochrome.

The bartender set his orange juice down in front of him. "Let me know if you need anything more," he offered, and Gon nodded.

"I will."

Beside him, Zushi was diligently scanning the crowd. Apparently he'd had it on good authority that the love of his life (read: crush) Alluka would be here tonight, and that her favorite band would be playing. Zushi had, apparently, been learning all the songs he could find from them so that he could woo her with a similarity. Gon had been saying he should just be himself, but there's one thing you can say about Zushi: he always gives 100%.

Yellow lights flickered above the stage near the back, and a man walked out. He had shaggy dark hair and a goatee, but mostly looked like a generic someone Gon half expected to see here. He adjusted the microphone slightly.

"Welcome," he said, voice echoing around the room. "Today we'll have music by two local bands: Scarewave and Speed of Light. They've both played here a few times, and we're always glad to have them. First up is Scarewave; please welcome them warmly."

The first band came on stage. Their lead, a girl with pink hair shaved at the sides and sticking out at the top, smiled at the audience.

"What's up everybody!" She said. Her voice was raw and gravely, and Gon found it intriguing. He hoped she was the singer. "We've got two songs for you tonight before we cede the floor. Let's have a good time and get wild."

One of the guitarists started strumming, making a weird, almost crunchy sound with the instrument before the others joined in.

"There she is," Zushi said, pulling on his sleeve and dragging his attention away from the stage.

Sitting at a booth on the other side of the bar was a girl near Zushi's age. She was wearing a t-shirt for Speed of Light with a skirt that showed off the cats at the top of her knee-high socks. Her hair was loose, thick black locks hanging down her back. She was watching the performance on the stage with a small smile.

"Do you want me to go talk to her or do you want to go over there yourself?"

Zushi almost looked offended.

"Gon, you're my wingman. Come with me and help me."

Gon snickered, picking up his glass from the bar as he took a drink. The harsh music from the stage was vibrating through the walls and the floors as Zushi and Gon wandered over to Alluka's booth.

"H-hey," Zushi said with a smile and a wave. Gon held back, trying not to overwhelm her. "Hi, I'm Zushi. We have Comparative Literature together. And Calc. Hi."

Alluka blinked at him, obviously surprised to see him here. "Oh yeah! Hi, nice to see you."

"Yeah, I, uh," he floundered a bit. "Ah, I see you like Speed of Light! From your shirt. I've been listening to them a lot lately and found out about their show here tonight and decided to come. What a surprise to see you here."

Gon took another drink of his orange juice while Alluka wrinkled her nose in amusement.

"Yes, well, you could say I go to all of their shows," she said. Her eyes drifted back to Gon. "He your friend?"

Zushi turned around a little rapidly, and Gon could see the panic in his eyes before he turned back to Alluka. "Yes. That's Gon. He works at a mechanic near the dorms? He's a good friend. Uh, Gon—" Zushi waved him forward. "Gon, come introduce yourself."

He set his drink down for a moment and held out a hand for Alluka. "It's nice to meet you. Zushi's done a good job introducing me already I think."

"True enough," her eyes danced over to Zushi, as she accepted Gon's handshake. He took back up his drink.

Gon took a small drink of his juice. "The band," he said, hoping to give the two something to talk about. "They're a local group, right? How'd you find out about them?"

The guitarist on stage launched into a pretty cool solo as the question was posed, and Gon found himself looking back over at the stage. Off in the wings, he saw the man with the goatee who'd introduced the band talking to someone with white hair cut short at the back. He was pointing towards the stage lights, and the goatee man was nodding.

When Gon tuned back into the conversation beside him, he found Alluka and Zushi talking about the band's music. Alluka nodded at the group currently playing.

"They're here a lot," she said. "And their sound is... Well, distinct is a good word. I haven't really been able to get into the songs, per se, but Zala—she's the singer—she's nice, so it's fun to come by when they're on." Zushi was nodding.

"Yeah," he said. He was starting to look a little more comfortable. "They're pretty heavy, huh? The guitarists are good, though."

"Not as good as Speed of Light though," she said with a laugh. Zushi laughed at that too.

"You, uh," he said. "How long have you been listening to them?"

Alluka shrugged. "Oh, I'm an early fan."

Scarewave finished there song with a loud blare of drums and guitars mashed together in an auditory soup. Zala, as Gon now knew she was called, took up the mic again.

"Alright, this one's called 'Mortis.' If you know it, scream it out!" Her voice was quickly drowned under wailing guitar riffs that filled the air and would probably give a dog a headache. It certainly almost gave Gon one, but he also felt the strings stir something immobile in his chest. Which felt weird but invigorating at the same time.

"Oh!" Alluka said suddenly. "I know this one. Light's singer helped her write it."

"They know each other?" Gon asked.

"Yeah. Same genre, same community. They get gigs in the same places a lot, even though Scare's a little heavier." She waved her hands about in a vague gesture. "This song though, they were both booked here, which is pretty normal for them, and she stormed up to him and showed him the song. They basically finished all the lyrics right then."

Gon tried to listen to some of the words, but couldn't make it out over the brain-shattering pounding of the drums.

"Huh," Zushi said. "That's kind of cool. Where did you hear that though?"

Alluka shrugged. "A lady never reveals her secrets." She smiled at him. "Anyway, sit down. Both of you. You've been standing this whole time. But Zushi, you gotta head up with me when Light comes on. Yeah?"

He nodded. "Osu."

Alluka's head tilted in surprise and confusion. "Osu?"

"He did karate," Gon explained while he pulled Zushi into the booth with him. He was sat closet to the wall, while he'd placed Zushi across from Alluka. It felt like the wingman thing to do. He could see well enough that Zushi hadn't registered the action. Which was, of course, no big deal, since he seemed to be panicking a little over the fact that he now was sitting at the same table as his crush. 

Alluka was glancing over at the stage, just as the singer was going into a very fast, growling bit that Gon thought was equally intimidating and interesting. He couldn't really make out the lyrics. Except something about fire and shotguns. A part of him wished he'd had a copy of the lyrics so he could figure out what the song was about. Or rather, he did until the growly bit ended with her shouting: _"_ _I'll watch you burn!"_ over the roar of the crowd. In fact, Gon could pick out a couple voices in the crowd that not only knew the song, it seemed, but also shouted out the part with her.

A few people were gathered in a group at the back of the bar, he noticed, were more prominent shouters. One, a short man with a round face and a purple beanie over his head, and a tall woman with straggly dark hair stuck out most to him.

"Oh," Alluka's voice was a bit soft under the rumble of the music. "Palm's here." She pushed herself out of the booth before glancing back at the two men. "I'm going to go say hi. Want to come with me?"

Gon shoved Zushi toward.

"Y-yeah. Sure. I'll go with you. Gon?" Zushi turned back toward him, though Gon declined.

"I'm going to finish my drink. Go say hi." He waved them both off, and Zushi nodded at him before turning, looking for the group.

Alluka flashed Gon a slight smile and gave him a thumbs up. In that moment, he realized that she had both caught on to what he was doing, and also using him as her own wingman. As the two walked away from the booth, Gon let himself laugh. It seemed Zushi's crush wasn't entirely hopeless.

The band finished up their song as the two crossed the bar, and Gon worked on sipping slowly through his drink as Zala gave her gruff good nights.

"Thank you all for the wonderful night!" She shouted out. "Speed of Light will be up after a short intermission. Be safe!"

With that, her fellow band members, with their tattoos and shaved heads and mohawks, gave their bows and good nights to the crowd before they started toting their instruments off the stage.

Zushi, from what Gon could tell from across the bar, was ingratiating himself rather well with Alluka's friends. He was talking animatedly with the shorter man in the purple beanie. It looked like the taller woman was also wearing a Speed of Light shirt as well, so it seemed like a surprise when Gon saw that the purple beanie guy was wearing something from a popular classic rock band, rather than the underground group his friends liked.

A new person walked up to them, and Gon recognized him. It was the guy who was talking backstage during Scarewave's performance. He seemed to know this group as well, if it wasn't obvious from the way he waved happily at them and gave Alluka a quick side-hug. The man himself was attractive, and Gon had no qualms about thinking it, raging bisexual as he was, as he watched their interactions.

First thing he noticed was the tight pants, though the nape of his neck was a close second. As Gon looked away just as he was starting to pull the purple beanie'd guy from the rest of them, it did strike him that he was there, specifically to be Zushi's wingman, and someone sitting around while checking out a stranger did not a good wingman make. The man with the beanie and the man with white hair disappeared backstage and Gon pulled his gaze back to Zushi, whose face was again turning red.

Gon hoped he was okay, but more importantly, Alluka was smiling at him, and Gon wouldn't exactly describe the look as amused, more fond. Gon tilted back some more of his juice. The lights over the shade shifted from a warm orange-ish tone to a cold but bright blue. From the corner with Zushi and Alluka's friends, Gon heard a whoop as Speed of Light walked out to take the stage.

If nothing, it explained a lot about Alluka, Gon thought as the white haired man and the man with the beanie took up instruments, as he already knew that they both knew Alluka and were friends with her. However, another person Gon didn't recognize was up on the stage with them. She had slid herself back behind the drums and sat confidently and quietly, sticks at the ready, while she waited for the boys to get set up.

Purple beanie was off to the side, with a guitar (bass guitar? Gon wasn't entirely sure what the difference was) hanging off his shoulder. The white haired man stood up front with a guitar hanging in front of him too. If Gon thought he was attractive from a distance, it had nothing on the view from the stage, especially under lights that seemed specifically chosen to compliment his hair and make his eyes look like daggers slicing the crowd in front of him in two. From a distance, Gon hadn't really noticed the tattoos either, the sleeves wrapping around his arms, on which, Gon could make out a coiled snake on each side amidst the rest of them.

The white haired man pulled the microphone towards him.

"We're Speed of Light," he said, in a very cool, nonchalant way that made Gon want to fall over. "Though I'm sure you've already gathered that much. We've got two songs for you tonight, so chill out and enjoy." Gon couldn't help but look over at the empty keyboard on the stage and wonder why they'd brought it along.

Then he started the song with a steady thrum of his strings before the other two joined him. When they played together, it was rather nice. Like a mattress of sound, where Scarewave probably could have been compared to a battering ram. But nothing prepared Gon for when the white haired man started singing.

It wasn't a love song, Gon decided, listening to the lyrics, but it could've been. It could have been something that a pair of lovers could see themselves in, though the lyrics themselves were talking about drifting off to sea. Which was probably a metaphor for something.

He took a sip of his drink.

He really liked this guy's voice. Even though he knew they were friends of Alluka's, he wasn't surprised she was a fan anyway. His voice was really clear, distinct enough that Gon would be able to recognize him if he were, say, listening to the tracks through streaming or something. Zushi, he figured, probably didn't need to try very hard to like this band.

This song talked about burning too: _I'd burn for you,_ the white haired man sang into the microphone. _I'd kill for you._ It might've been a love song, Gon thought, but it didn't feel like one. It felt like he were also floating on the raft, out to sea, with the chorus of the song, but he didn't look across from himself and see a lover. He didn't look over and see the attractive man on stage. When he looked over, he saw Mito, lying across from him, with all the same convictions as him, glad to be floating on the water with him.

Across the bar, Alluka was saying something to Zushi that made his blush darken, before she pulled out her phone and lit up her face with its soft blue light. She handed it over to him, and Gon was happy for them, assuming that Zushi was getting her phone number so they could talk. Maybe be friends, hopefully more.

The song ended with two solid whacks to the drums, and the white haired man addressed the crowd again.

"Now," he said. "I was pestered before the show by a friend to play this one as well, and I've already got the okay, so if you would please welcome to the stage, my darling sister, who will be singing this next one with me."

And to Gon's surprise, Alluka trotted up to the stage and took her spot behind the keyboard with a wide smile. She adjusted her microphone to align with her mouth.

"This next one is new because he just wrote it, like, a week ago, but we hope you all enjoy it anyway," she said, directing her smile to the audience as she started the song with a long, solid note from the keyboard.

Zushi looked over at him from across the bar, and Gon looked back, sure he was wearing the same dumb, surprised look on his face. Just as quick as they met eyes, Zushi returned to the booth, slipping in across from Gon as the siblings played on stage. Their voices layered nicely, with similar textures lapping over support and melody. They were singing something about a meteor shower and a group of swans, but Gon was a little too distracted to pay attention to what they were saying.

"So I'll take it she didn't mention her brother was the singer," Gon said casually, to which Zushi replied with a frown.

"Is there some way that she can find out I'm not telling the whole truth from this?" He asked a little panicked.

Gon shrugged. "Probably not, but you should probably come clean. You like the band, no?"

"I do."

"And you've found other things to talk about too?"

Zushi nodded.

"Then I don't see the problem. Either come clean or wait until she mentions it. Honestly, I think she's already figured out that you just wanted an excuse to talk to her, but honestly, if there's a charade, it's on you." Gon downed the last of his drink.

Zushi groaned. "You're an awful wingman."

"Oh, didn't she give you her number?" Gon could've sworn that was what happened, and Zushi confirmed it. "Then I'm a good wingman." His eyes flickered back to the stage, where Alluka was skillfully pressing the keys and her brother was singing something low. _Like I'd never known the comfort of eternity,_ he sang. She hummed beneath the line.

 _Like I'd never understood this limited time,_ Alluka finished the thought. She had a good voice too. Gon wondered if that was genetics, if everyone in their family was thus musically inclined, or if it had just been the two of them working at it in some corner of the house.

Zushi crossed his arms on the table in front of him, setting his chin down on them.

"Her voice is really pretty," he said, somewhat dreamily. Gon felt his own variation of that breed of appreciation was flowing a different direction.

As the two of them quieted their hushed conversation, Gon started to listen to the lyrics a little more. The song was about a meteor shower, he discovered as the two launched into the chorus again, and the two voices were lying in a field watching the streaks of light fly across the sky while struggling with their mortalities, which was, frankly, depressing, but it sounded pretty. He had a feeling this was true for a lot of Speed of Light's songs, though he'd only heard two.

The song ended slowly, but after the sound had quieted out, Gon heard a soft cheer from the corner with Alluka's friends. When he looked over, he saw the dark-haired woman waving at the band.

"That was great!" She shouted with a sweep of her hand.

Alluka waved back at her, her smile still present, though she seemed to quickly notice Zushi's absence from the group. Her gaze scanned over the crowd before it found them at the booth again. Gon watched as she then went back to helping the band pack up their instruments before turning to her brother and saying something. After she did, however, his eyes turned to their booth too, and their eyes met across that dim-lit bar. He said something to his sister, before helping the drummer take her things into the back, electric guitar slung over his back.

"I think you're about to meet her brother," Gon said after the two had disappeared backstage. Zushi sat up.

"I did. Shortly. Ah man. Should I be nervous? I only have her number. It's not like we're dating."

Gon felt an unspoken _yet_.

"Well, maybe, when you are—" Zushi flushed at the when— "you'll already have a good relationship with her family so they'll have nothing to be mad about. Not that anyone would be mad about their kid dating you." Gon quickly covered up Zushi's swelling anxiety, that he could see in his wide eyes and pinched mouth.

"If her family hates me, you owe me dinner for a week," Zushi said, jabbing a finger toward Gon. To which, he shrugged.

"I'll take you up on that because honestly, Zushi, there's no way they'll hate you."

The purple beanie'd guy and the drummer, Gon had noticed, had made their way over to Alluka's friend group. Greeting them happily and chatting with them, so he assumed the band had finished up packing. Every part of him, boiling deep inside, hoped that he was right in his assumptions to Zushi, having seen how Alluka was using him just as much as Zushi was, he couldn't help but have the thought that Alluka and her brother were taking off in the band's truck while she laughed about the awkward kid that flirted with her. He didn't want to think it, but he couldn't help himself, even though it was quite possibly the worst way this night could end for his friend.

However, his fears were forgotten as Alluka appeared from behind the booth and slid herself in next to Zushi. Her brother was close behind, though he hung back and propped himself against the wall. Gon tried not to look at him too much, but he was hot and Gon was weak.

His hair looked soft, was handsomely roughed up with hairspray or something that left it glittering light freshly fallen snow. His eyes didn't fall on Gon, but surveyed the table carefully. Even in these dim lights, they glistened, flaring a blue like the fire on a gas range. His face, the entire way he presented himself, Gon thought, was ice, but behind it, peaking out in cracks and crevices, was a fire so carefully contained. It intrigued Gon to know end. What, he wondered, was the fire made of?

He had also slipped on a leather jacket, which unfortunately covered up his tattoos. Gon desperately wanted to see them.

"Okay so," Alluka immediately took charge, snapping Gon's attention to her, as Zushi quietly reeled from her return. "My brother said he'd pay for dinner—" The confused frown that quickly snapped over his face when she mentioned it didn't escape Gon's notice— "so I wanted to invite you two to come out with us. There's a diner across the street with really good fries. Like. Evenly salted, plump little bastards, you'll love them." She looked expectantly between him and Zushi. Her brother didn't look especially pleased, but he didn't say anything.

"Uh," Zushi said, and Gon could see him trying to contain his excitement. "Sure. I'd love to. Uh." He turned to Gon then, who shrugged.

"Sure."

Alluka grinned, as did Zushi, and before Gon could blink, she was pulling him from the booth and toward the door of the bar, giving a big wave to her friends. Gon could hear their goodbyes even though he'd only gotten as far as getting out of the booth.

Her brother had faired about the same, though he was also looking at Gon with interest.

"She'd told me all about Zushi after the show," he said. "But she hadn't mentioned you."

Gon was quiet for a moment, before he threw his hand forward for him to shake.

"Oh! I'm Gon. I'm Zushi's friend." As he spoke, Alluka's brother shook his hand, a bemused expression slowly blooming on his face.

"Gon, huh?" He said. "Weird, I swear, I've seen you somewhere."

Gon shrugged. "Nature of a small town, I guess? Cause I feel like I've seen you too... I mean, my job's near their school so maybe it was there..."

"Who knows." As he spoke, their hands fell apart. Gon hadn't noticed the hand shake had lasted so long. "I'm Killua, by the way."

Gon was really glad to have a face to his name.

"We should, ah, catch up. Just across the street right?"

Killua gave a half-hearted shrug. "Yeah. Owned by a friend, so Alluka eats there a lot."

With a calm nod, he started walking, and Gon closely followed. Killua also waved to the same group who again chorused their farewells, and it didn't escape Gon that the siblings had the same friends. He thought it a little weird; even though he was an only child, he'd heard and read enough about relationships between siblings to know how odd it was for the two.

The night air was bracing as he stepped outside, and he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Killua's shoulder hunch forward from under his jacket. Across the street, he could see Alluka and Zushi heading into the diner, Alluka with a big smile and, upon seeing them, a wave high over her head.

Killua laughed under his breath and looked back at Gon, from over his shoulder.

"Don't want to get left behind, now do we?"

Gon held back his own nervous chuckle. "Nope," he said, striding up to be by Killua's side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway I'm really excited about this one. Posting the first chapter now, but I will warn you that I'm going to work on finishing a lot of other fics before I come back to it.
> 
> So, have a preemptive thanks for your patience, and I'll see you again when I clean up my plate.
> 
> Anyway here's two songs I imagined Killua singing that made this AU: "One Lonely Visitor" by Chevelle and "Cherry Wine" by Hozier


End file.
